This richly documented history provides a thorough look at Guam, the first inhabited island known to Europeans (Ferdinand Magellan landed there in 1521) and one of the world's last colonies. Former diplomat Robert Rogers, now a professor at the university of Guam, evokes the dramatic yet little-known saga of Guam's people, from the pre-contact era through centuries of Spanish domination, colonial rule under a U.S. naval government, the massive military invasions of World War II, and the subsequent scandals and victories experienced by modern Guamanians in their still-unfulfilled quest to regain control of their future.